


Blossoms and Butterflies

by LilBittyMonster



Series: Mollymauk Lives Fest [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Flower Crowns, Fluff, Gen, Mollymauk Lives Fest, Silent Image, everyone else is there too but not enough to be tagged, post-ressurection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 17:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15890568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilBittyMonster/pseuds/LilBittyMonster
Summary: Nott wields her flower crown skills on not one but two party members this time





	Blossoms and Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3: Flowers and Fun With Magic

“Molly, move your tail, you’re going to knock them all over the place!” Nott ordered as she gathered the scattered blossoms back into neat little piles on the bed.

Mollymauk saw Caleb smile fondly, still staring straight ahead as she continued weaving. Nott began humming tunelessly under her breath as she worked, slowly plaiting a crown around Caleb’s head. Mollymauk turned so that he was facing them, tail hanging off the end of the bed, and began shuffling his cards out of habit, laying them across the sheet before reshuffling and repeating.

“Well, I think I’m going to head to the bar for a bit,” he said after the tenth or twelvth drawing.

“Oh no, you aren’t, you’re going to stay put. After I’m done with Caleb you’re next,” Nott said in her Stern Voice. “If anyone needs flowers, it’s you. Besides Caleb, of course.”

“Of course,” Mollymauk echoed, sitting forward on his arms and watching with a small smile.

Nott eventually switched sides, tying off the braid with a small bit of string before starting the second half of the crown. Molly was now able to see an uninterrupted view of the flower chain, blossoms so thick that he couldn’t see the braid underneath. The pale blues and delicate whites contrasted beautifully with Caleb’s copper hair. The wizard's expression had gone slack, his eyes barely open.

“Still with us, Mister Caleb?” Mollymauk asked softly.

“Hmm, ja, still here,” he mumbled, dazedly blinking his eyes open. “How do I look?”

“Handsome, as always,” Mollymauk quipped, revelling in the deep blush that sprang to the wizard’s cheeks.

Nott shot him a look over Caleb’s head, to which Mollymauk just responded with a polite smile. Just then the door opened as Jester twirled her way into the room.

“Hi guys, I’m back,” she sing-songed, “who wants some pastries? Oh my gosh, Caleb, you look so handsome!”

“Thank you, Jester,” he said softly, still a bit pink in the face. “I take it you were successful?” he nodded slightly to the full bags dangling off her arms.

“Yah, I got a whole bunch of bear claws, because who knows next time we’re gonna find any of those, and I got us some blueberry tarts, and some strawberry ones, and these apple pie thingies with this really good frosting. Do you want one?”

“I’ll take one, sure,” Mollymauk said, putting his cards away and holding out a hand.

Jester dug out a little box and placed one of the pies in his palm, pulling one out for herself as well. The icing and cinnamon dusted over the dough stuck in between his fingers as he ate, but the apple filing was still warm and sweet.

“D’you have any napkins, by any chance?” he asked Jester, who was already pulling out another baked something to much on.

“I think so,” she said. She reached into the bag from the bakery and produced a couple folded pieces of cloth.

“Thank you, dear.”

“Alright, Caleb, you’re all done,” Nott proclaimed proudly. “Molly, you’re up.”

Jester’s eyes widened. “I saw the most beauuu-tiful flowers outside, I’ll be right back!” And with that she bounced off the bed and disappeared.

Mollymauk turned back to face the door and sat crosslegged, mimicking how Caleb was still seated, as Nott considered how she wanted to do his hair.

“I’ve never done this with horns in the way,” she admitted, lifting a few sections of hair experimentally.

“I trust your judgement,” Mollymauk said.

“....Was that sarcastic?”

“No, why would it be?”

She just huffed and began braiding a section from between his horns. Jester reappeared with arms full of bright yellow and orange wildflowers, some smaller purple ones mixed in. Somehow she had managed to find some that matched some of the threads on his coat.

“I hope I grabbed enough,” she said as she piled them on the bed.

“That should be fine. What do you think, Jester, having it go like this-” she traced a finger lightly over where his horn met scalp “-or down and around?”

“I think the first way would be better, but with the braid like this,” she said as she moved to Mollymauk’s other side and began plaiting.

Nott undid her previous braid and matched Jester’s. The sensations of his hair being played with and their quiet half-conversation was comforting. No wonder Caleb had almost fallen asleep. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that he was still with the circus, that it was Toya and Yasha braiding his hair with whatever wildflowers Toya had picked at the roadside, and then they would braid Toya’s hair, and Yasha would always add one of the flowers to her book.

“Molly, are you alright?” Caleb asked.

Mollymauk startled a bit, forgetting he was there. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking about the circus, is all. We used to do this with Toya, and Yasha whenever she was around,” he said.

A light touch, so light he almost thought he had imagined it, rested on his knee, squeezing gently before letting go. That, and Caleb’s use of his nickname, left him a little bit dazed.

“Well, now you can do it with us whenever you want, and we’re always around!” Jester piped up cheerfully.

“Ooh, and in the winter we can use silk flowers and maybe even buttons and beads and ribbons!” Nott added excitedly. “What do you think, Caleb?”

“I think that many buttons and beads would be a bit heavy, but silk flowers and ribbons would be nice.”

Jester had worked about halfway across his head with flowers, Nott beginning to add in on her side, and Mollymauk’s head was wreathed with their various floral scents.

“Ahh, it smells so good! You’re almost done,” Jester informed him.

“I’m sure it looks fabulous,” Mollymauk said with a grin. Jester’s joy was infectious.

The last of the stems was woven in, and the two girls sat back to admire their work. Mollymauk turned to Caleb.

“How do I look?”

“Like a prince out of a faery tale,” Caleb said thoughtfully. “It suits you.”

Mollymauk’s grin widened.

“Oh, and one more thing…” Nott said. Everyone frowned slightly before there was a slight ripple of magic, and then Jester squealed in delight.

“Oh, it’s perfect, Nott! They’re so pretty!”

“They look lovely,” Caleb said with pride.

Nott ducked her head bashfully.

“I just have a really amazing teacher who knows everything and can do everything,” she said simply.

Caleb averted his gaze, cheeks tinged pink once more.

“Here, Caleb, I’ll do one for you too,” she said and suddenly there was a small swarm of blue butterflies nested in the flowers and on the top of his head.

“Jester, d’you have a mirror?” Mollymauk asked.

He was handed her small hand mirror, which he then passed over to Caleb. The blue of the butterflies matched the blue of Caleb’s eyes, Mollymauk noticed belatedly.

“These are wonderful, schatz. You’ve gotten so good at this.” He handed the mirror back to Mollymauk. “If you wished to see yourself as well…?”

Mollymauk held up the little glass, turning his head side to side. The golds and purples really did look good on him, as well as what he assumed was Nott’s magic. Bright green stems wound around his horns, decorated with large blossoms in vibrant red and purple.

“What are these, they’re gorgeous,” he asked Nott as he ran a hand gently over the blossoms.

“Snapdragons. Yasha told me about them, and I tried to remember what they looked like from her book.”

“Well, I am ready for drinks, if anyone wants to join me?” he proclaimed, standing and returning the mirror.

“Everyone else should be back by now, anyways,” Jester said.

She packed all her pastries back into their boxes before putting them into the haversack. Just as Jester predicted, their remaining four were sitting at their usual table in the back. Fjord and Beau were nursing tankards, and Caduceus and Yasha each had cups of tea. Beau noticed their descent down the stairs first.

“You two look like a garden threw up on you,” she said once they were within hearing. Fjord elbowed her in the ribs. “Looks good,” she added.

“Fuck you, Beau,” Mollymauk said with a smile.

“Fuck you, too, Molly,” she shot back without heat. They both smiled at the fact that they could do that again.

“Right, so what’re the plans for the day?” Fjord asked the group.

“Well, I was thinking maybe we could go shopping?” Jester suggested. Everyone but Mollymauk groaned.

**Author's Note:**

> I miss their casual days of downtime and fluff. Couldn't resist adding in the bit with snapdragons.
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://lilbittymonster.tumblr.com/) if you want to say hi :)


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